St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-06-25

streets and sent West by beneV-
client society, wrote East, saying: Il
am getting along-frst rate. | am on
probation in the Methodist Church. l
shall be entered as member the first
next month | now teach Sunday
school class of eleven boys. I get alon:
tirst-rate with it. This is a splendl'
country to make a living in. If thu
boys running around the street with d
backing box on their shoulder, or bun
die of papers under their arms, only
knew what high old times we boys havs
out here, they wouldn't hesitate abor =
coming West, but come the first chanc
they got" SO some by one humane ans
Christian visitation, and some by another
are being rescued In one reform schoo
through which 1000 of the little one
passed, ,995 turned out well. In othe
words, only five of the 1000 turned GU
badly. There are thousands of them who
through Christian societies, have beel
transplanted to beautiful homes all over
this land, and there are many VINO
through the rich grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, have already won the crown. A
little girl was found in the streets OF Bal
timore and taken into one of the reform
societies, and they said to her: "What
is your name?" She said: MY name is
Nary" What is your other name! =
She said II don't know" So they took
her into the reform society, and as they
did not know her last name they always
called her MARY Lost" since she had
been picked up out of the street. But
she grew on, and after while the holy
spirit came to her heart, and she became
a Christian child, and she changed her
name; and when anybody asked her
what her name was, she said: ut used
to be Mary Lost; but now, since have
become Christian, it is Mary Found"
For this vast multitude, are we willing
to 90 forth from this mornings service
and see what we can do, employing all
the agencies | have spoken of for the
rectifcation of the poisoned fountains?
We live in beautiful city. The lines
have fallen to US in pleasant places, and
we have a goodly heritage; and any man
who does not like residence in Brook
lyn, must be a most uncomfortable and
unreasonable man. But, my friends, the
material prosperity of a city is not its
chief glory. There may be fine houses
garniture of sepulchre. Some of the
ulOSt prosperous Cltlcs VI lho "oii"
have gone down, not one stone
left upon another. But city may
be in ruins long before tower has
fallen, or column has crumbled, or a
tomb has been defaced When in city
the churches of God are full of cold for
malities and inanimate religion; when
the houses of commerce are the abode of
fraud and unholy traffic; 1shen the streets
are filled with crime unarrested and sin
unenlightened and helplessness unpitied
that city is in ruins, though every
church were a St. Peters, and every
moneyed institution were Bank of Eng
land, and every library were a British
Museum, and every house had porch
like that of Rheims, and roof like that
of Amiens. and tower like thH6 of Ant
werp, and traceried windows like those
of Freiburg.
Ny brethren, our pulses beat rapidly
the time away, and soon we shall be
gone; and what we have to do for the
city in which we live we must do right
speedily, or ever do it at all. In that
day when those who have wrapped them
selves in luxuries and despised the poor
shall come to shame and everlasting con-
tempt, I hope it may be said of you and
me that we gave bread to the hungry,
and wiped away the tear of the orphan.
and upon the wanderer of the street we
opened the brightness and benediction
of a Christian home; and then, through
our fundamentally, it shall be known
on earth and in Heaven that Mary Lost
became Mary Found!